Means for servicing covered vehicle springs



Aug. 11, 1936. R c, JONES 2,050,572

MEANS FOR SERVICING COVERED VEHICLE SPRINGS Filed May 11, 1934 3nventor 18A) 6- IONA-5 B5 (Ittonmp ahle1lubricating or grease'fittingswhen originally t mrao STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS} FOR snavlcmcr COVERED VEHICLE SPRINGS Ray C; Jones, 'iiifin; Ohin ApplicationMay 11, 1934, Serial No. 725,174 4Claims. (01; 184-1)" fl'hisinvention'relates to means for servicing or lub'ricatirigi vehicle'i springs of the type equipped with covers, generally of metal and lacking suitapplied to the spring.

' As far as I know, the method'most commonly followed heretofore in servicing covered vehicle springs of" the" leaft'ype has been to drill the spring from below, or in the'bottom' wall thereof, and then insert a lubricant fitting adjacent the drilled hole; endeavor to provide clearance between the bottom wallof the cover and the spring for thepassage' of thelubricant, and apply lubricant under pressure to the spring.

been recognized that this method was more or less impractical from the standpoint of effective and permanent lubrication; sincethe grease or lubricant seldom penetrated to all parts of the cover, the bulk of thelubricant staying at the bottom of the spring and never reaching the points needing lubrication. Furthermore, unless the" hole -is covered, the lubricant drains therefrom; and it is extremely difficult, if notirripractical, to cover the drilled hole or to attach a permanent-fitting thereto lf the lubricant is applied at thetop-of the-spring cover; it-works its way bygravity and' thi'o'ugh' constant flexing of the spring to all parts of the latter; Heretofore, however; it has beenconsidered-extremely difiicultif not impossible-with known" tools to drill the hard metal coverf rom the top; and" as aconsequence, the foregoing or. similarly in-- effective methods have-beentolerated'or else the owner of the vehicle accepts the situation and either discards the coveror permits the" spring 1 to go unlubricated.

The primary object of l the invention; therefore, is to provide improved meansforefficiently lubricating vehicle springs having covers thereon.

Another and more specificobject oflthe invention isto provide improved meanswhreby awall; and particularly the'top wall of a vehicle spring cover" may be" readily andj conveniently drilled to receiveafittihg for the application (if-lubricant.

Another object isto provide anim'proved fitting for applying lubricant to a covered "vehicle spring which willtefiect a tight seal capable of withstanding the pressure to Y which it isnormally subjected when the lubricant is forced into the'cover; and which also provides clearance between the cover and spring for facilitating application of the lubricant."

' The foregoing; and" other objects and, important' advantages will become apparent in view It has of: the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is aview insectional elevation of a spring and cover therefor; together with the improved -tool ffor drilling the cover shown in drill- 5 ing position;

'Figlire 21s a detail view in elevation of the drilling tool removed'from itsholder or clamp; and T Figure 3 is ai central vertical sectional view taken through ajspring cover and my' improved" fitting. g g k The assembly in general comprises a holder frame or cla'riipflmembe'fi generally indicated at C, a drillihgg tool; gene-rally indicated at T, anda fitting} generally indicated atF.

The frame or cla'mp member C is preferably in thefornifiof a -clamp provided at its lower nose portion 5 with a clampingscrew 6 having a 'ball h'jead l and" a contact or bearing member ly 'threadeds1eeve9; which is adapted to be 5- threaded into the upper nose f portion 5a of the C-clamp or bracket C, a-relatively short drillin'g bit 1 l0 whichdsfproviddf at its lower extremity'witha=retaining and" bearing collar II and at its upper extremity with a cap or head 0 I 2; which is secured 'to said shankby means of a-stud;orpir 1l,and a handle l4 whichj is extended'througlr the cap I2 to facilitate" rotation ofthebitlllg A further handle l5isfixed'to the head lld of the sleeve Sto'facilitate manipu1a= 5" ti orroffthelatter? Afve 'icle springoffthe leaf type is generally indicated at l Si and has applied thereover a' cover IL; suitable, packing" material I8 in the form of-felt or {the likebeing interposed between 40 the cover and spring, as is 'usually practiced in modern spring construction.

' Theoperation-of'the improved tool is as'follows;

nose '5'afiof the clamp C, the clamp is applied over the-spring "cover and the screw 6 tightened tobringthebearing member '8 against the lower wall of the coverll and the nose portion am against the upper" wall of th cover, the bit. 10 5d beingtspotted 'relatively' to the upper wall of the "cover 'at the poihtit"is"'desird todrill the hole for the fitting, and the" handle ISbeing used"tolowerthesleeve' 9 'andbit lll iri' contact 'tliebov'er'and' maintain" the desired drilling 55 Thetool'i having been inserted in the upper pressure on the bit. The drill may be readily rotated by gripping the handle I l. 7

. An important advantage in this type of tool is 7 that the cover may be readily drilled from the top thereof, or the top wall of the cover may be drilled to receive the fitting. Heretofore this has vehicle. Furthermore, the upper wall of the spring is the proper place to drill the fitting holes,

since any lubricant applied at this point will flow, by gravity through the various parts'of the spring which need lubrication, and thereafter the fitting hole may remain uncovered without loss of the l V lubricant. It willbe obvious, however, that the. improved tool may be usedto drill any desired wall'of; the cover.

The improved fitting F isclearly shown in Figure 3 and comprises a body portion or housingiZQ, which is formed'wi'th an under-cut recess "in the bottom wall thereof, as at. 25, in which a sealing gasket. 22v is seated, the latter preferably beingjformed with one or more annular con centricbosses 2ta;to:ensure an effective sealwhen pressure is applied on the gasket.

i The centralportion of the housing is drilled verticallyonformed with a Vertical bore 23 which is enlarged at its upper extremity as at 23a. 1 A clamping assembly is inserted in the bores 23 and 23a and'as shown comprisesa clamping pin '24 which terminates at its lower end in a gripping hook 25. Thelower shank portion of the pinj 24 is formedrwithga longitudinal keyway 26, .and'a key in the form of a screw ,21 is threaded into j the housing with the-inner endthereof engaging injsaid keyway, to hold the pin against rotation during the attaching operation. The pin 2% is threadedat its upper extremity and is adapted tofbe inserted in, ahead '28 formed with a longitudinalbore 29, which is interiorly screw threaded to receive the upper extremity of the pin. 24.. -The lower extremity of v the head '28 is formed with an annular groove 30 in which the inner end of a retaining key in the form of a stud or screw 3! engages; the said screw being threaded into housing 20. A bushing orbearing member the spring cover; The passage-33 is interiorly" 3.2 ;is preferably interposed between the lower sur-;

faceo f the head and the adjacent surfaceof the housing 20. V i V :The housing 20 is formed with a transverse lubricating bore or -p assageway 33 which feeds into-'a'vertical passageway 34, the latter feeding into the central'open portion of the gasket 2 and thence into the'opening. formed. in the top wall of threaded and has inserted therein a suitable nippleor fitting 35'for application of :the tubeor grease gun 'or like means for applying lubricant under pressure. Thehead 28 is'provided with a 'ha'ridleor like means as tofacilitate rotation 1 thereof.

-The fitting Fmay be assembled-many. suitable mannerfsuch as by first assembling the pin 24- in the head, 2 8,",and theninserting'the'head and pin into the housing 20 anoladvancing the screws 2l'and 31 until they register with the keyway 23. .andfgr'oove 30', respectively. It willbe seen that when the head'28 is rotated, the pin.24 will either be lowered; or raised, depending upon thedirec tion of, rotation of said head,,the saidpin being held against rotation by the-key 21 engaging in thelongitudinal spline way or groove 23. V The manner in'which the improved fitting may befappliedtoa spring will be readily apparent ing head rotatably mounted in admission of lubricant Since the hole through which the lubricant is passed is drilled inthe top wall of the spring, the

lubricant will nothave a tendency to leak from 15 the cover. I have found by actual experience that a spring may be readily and eifectively drilled and'a lubricant applied in a relatively short time. While I prefer to remove the. fitting, yet it will be obvious that the fitting may remain in position-permanently and lubricant applied at any desired time. .Obviously,.if desired, the holes drilled in the top of the cover may be covered to keepout foreign matter in event, the fitting is removed. V I

It ;will be understood that certain minor changes and variations in structure may be adopted'within. the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: a

1. A fitting for facilitating the application of a lubricant to vehicle springs provided with covers comprising a housing, a gasketadapted to seat in the. lower end .of the housing, said housing being formed with an axial bore, a clamping 5 member mounted in said bore and having apart adapted to engage a wall of the cover, means for preventing rotation of said clamping memher, and a tightening member screwed onto said clamping member and rotatable about the latter 40 tomove the saidmemberlaxially and'cla'mp the, said part against the wall of thexcover, said housing being provided witha passageway for. directing the lubricant into. the cover. I

-2.:A fitting particularly adapted for facilitating the application of a lubricant to vehicle springs provided with covers comprising a housing havingaa gasket seated in the .lower' end thereof, said housingbeing formed with an axial bore, a clamping pin mounted for limited axial movement in said bore and having apart at its lower end adapted. to engage the wall of the cover, means for holding the said pin against rotation-with respect to the housing, and a clampin head mounted in said housing. and having threaded engagement'with saidpin, saidhead being rotatable about, said pin to move said part into and from' clamping engagement with said wall, the housing being provided with a passageway for directing lubricant into the cover. 1

3. A. fitting particularly adapted for vehicle springs provided with covers-having a hole drilled inone ofthe walls thereof, comprising a housing having a gasket seated .in the lower surface thereof adapted t'o'fitover 'said wall, said housing 5 being formed with an axial bore, a clamping pin, mounted for limited axial movementlinrsaid bore and having-a clamping hook at the lower end thereof, adapted. to be inserted in said hole and moved into contact with said walLa clamp- 70 7 7 said housing and having threaded engagement with said pin, said clamping head being rotatable about said pin to move said hook into and from clamping'cnga ement with respect to said wall, said housing being provided with a passageway for directing lubricant into the cover.

4. A fitting particularly adapted for vehicle springs provided with covers having a hole drilled in one of the walls thereof comprising a housing having a gasket seated in the lower end thereof, said housing being formed with an axial bore terminating in an enlarged opening, a clamping pin mounted in said bore and having a clamping hook at its lower end adapted to be inserted in said hole and under the adjacent wall, said pin being formed with a spline groove, a spline member inserted in said housing and having its end engaging said groove to prevent rotation of said 

